Buffing wheel



Feb. 11, 1964 s. c. MOCKIEWICZ ETAL BUFFING WHEEL 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Dec. 12, 1950 1964 s. c. MOCKIEWICZ ET AL ,1

BUFFING WHEEL Filed Dec. 12, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nite SttfiS atent 3,120,724 BUFFING WHEEL Sylvester C. Mockiewicz and Leonard B. Sax, both of 2414 S. La Salle St., Chicago, Ill. Filed Dec. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 75,163 Claims. (Cl. 51-193) This invention relates to a buifing Wheel and more particularly to a flapper or finger type buffing wheel having a plurality of radially extending abrasive buffing elements.

Bufiing wheels having abrasive elements are used to remove substantial amounts of excess metal and to impart a relatively smooth finish to metal products. Bufiing wheels of relatively nonabrasive fabric are then used to impart a final polish and color to the work. The buffing wheel is rotated at a rather high rate of speed, and work is brought into contact with the abrasive buffing elements. In the bufiing process wear is, of course, encountered in both the work object and in the buffing elements of the wheel. The wear on the metal object, if carefully controlled, results in a smooth finish being imparted thereto, but the wear on the bufling elements usually is difficult to control and may be uneven or be accompanied by frayed edges or deterioration of the abrasive surfaces.

In any event it is very desirable to control the wear of the buffing elements, so that there is a minimum of fraying at the edges and so that each element wears uniformly. If fraying is encountered, the rapidly rotating frayed edge not only is somewhat dangerous to the operator but also tends to isolate the abrasive particles from the work, causing undesirable nonuniform finishing of the surface of the metal object. If the buffing elements wear unevenly, the bufiing action will be uneven and nonuniform. This is true since the contact surface between the metal and the wheel is small, and in the high speed wheel the abrasive elements are substantially unyielding in character. Thus, if they are worn unevenly, these elements will result in a cutting and abrading of the metal only in parts of the buffing area, which is quite undesirable under most circumstances.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved buffing wheel utilizing abrasive coated sheet material in a unique configuration.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bufting wheel which exhibits a minimum amount of fraying in the bufiing elements.

It is another object of this invention to provide a buffing wheel wherein the amount of wear on the bufling elements is maintained substantially uniform.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a very effective buffing wheel employing cloth bufling elements to effect uniform buffing of the work.

It is another object of this invention to provide a buffing wheel which is self-cleaning and which will prevent uneven fraying of the buffing elements.

Additional objects will be seen, and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In one embodiment of the invention the buffing wheel is formed of a plurality of distinct buffing elements. Each element comprises a central core of several flat, substantially rectangular, abrasive coated, bias cut clot plies. Folded about this multi-ply central core is a multiply cover, also consisting of several abrasive coated, bias cut, rectangular cloth plies. The plies of the cover are preferably approximately twice the width of the plies used to form the central core. Thus, when the plies of the cover are folded about the central core, the longitudinal fold line of the cover will occur centrally in the cover and along one longitudinal edge of the rectangular central core. The longitudinal edges of the cover will be approximately in register with each other and with the opposite longitudinal edge of the core, so that in effect the bufiing element will be closed along one edge and open along the other with the abrasive on the outer surfaces. When the buff is rotated the closed edge of each element is the leading edge thereof and the open edge is the trailing edge thereof. The elements, thus constructed, are arranged in an annulus with the longitudinal folds thereof extending radially. At the inner end of each element the leading edge thereof is partially nested within the open or trailing edge of the next adjacent element, and a clamping ring engages and clamps these elements adjacent their partially nested inner ends to maintain them in this position. In one embodiment of the invention the buffing wheel is formed without employing the central core in the buffing elements, although superior results for many types of work are achieved with the more dense elements having the central core.

One of the features of this invention is the discreteness of the buffing elements and the close packing of the piles thereof. In order to achieve the superior self-cleaning, even wearing qualities of the bufiing wheel, the plies of the cover and of the core if used, should be positioned very close to each other, so that each ply or layer of each element has a tendency to clean itself oif against the abrasive surface of the underlying ply. On the other hand, the individual buffing elements should be spaced so that they are substantially distinct.

In a modification of the invention, the buffing elements are disposed in the annulus in a serpentine pattern. With this arrangement the open or trailing edge portion adjacent the inner end of each element and the folded or leading edge portion adjacent the inner end of the next adjacent element are in superposed relationship.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of this invention on a reduced scale;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of one of the buffing elements before it is clamped by the clamping ring;

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 4-4;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment wherein the central core is omitted;

FIG. 6 is a face view of the buffing wheel showing a modified arrangement of the abrasive buffing elements; and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the buifing wheel of FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the bufling wheel 10 comprises a plurality of substantially rectangular bufling elements 12 which are arranged in an annulus and are clamped in position by the clamping lugs 14 of a centerless annular metal ring 16. An apertured metal hub 18 is provided, as illustrated in FIG. 1, for insertion within the annular ring 24. This hub is clamped to and becomes an integral part of the centerless ring 16 and of the bufiing wheel 10 after it has been inserted in the ring, and various peripheral tabs 2% on the hub which were parallel to the axis of the hub are formed radially outward to engage the centerless annular clamping ring 16.

In the preferred embodiment each of the buffing elements 12 consists of a central core 22 and a cover 24, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Both the core 22 and the cover 24 of the buffing elements are constructed of several rectangular plies of abrasive cloth. The particles of abrasive material such as emery, corundum, or the like, are applied to one side of the cloth,

, and the cloth is cut on the bias to minimize raveling.

The abrasive cloth plies used to form the core 22 are preferably about the length and width of the composite buffing element. In the preferred embodiment they are about 1 /2 inches wide, and their length will depend upon the desired diameter of the butting wheel. This length in a new wheel generally will exceed twice the width of the plies, and the wheel may be used until the length of each buffing element has been worn away to substantially less than the width thereof. Each ply of the core 22 is positioned so that the abrasive coated surface thereof will be in close contact with the undersurface of the next adjacent or overlying ply.

The abrasive coated cloth plies of the cover 24 are also substantially rectangular and are preferably about twice the width of the plies in the core 22, i.e. about 3 inches in width and, like the plies in the core, the length of the plies in the cover 24 will depend upon the desired diameter for the buffing wheel 1% These plies are also cut on the bias to prevent excessive raveling. The plies in the cover 24 are positioned very close to one another, and the abrasive surface of each of the underplies engages the undersurface of the adjacent overlying ply.

The entire multi-ply cover 24 is folded about the multiply core 22 and thus forms a longitudinal fold or bight portion 26 along one longitudinal edge of the bufiing element 12. Since the folded cover 24 is approximately twice the width of the fiat core 22, the cover and the core will be substantially transversely coextensive, and the longitudinal edge 28 of the buffing element 12, that is, the edge opposite the fold or bight portion 26, will be open.

The butfing elements 12 are arranged in an annulus, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the edge portions 26 and 28 thereof extending longitudinally. The bight portion 26 of each element is the leading edge and the opposite edge 28 is the trailing edge.

At their inner ends, the buffing elements are slightly nested, that is, the bight portion 26 at the inner end of each element will be disposed slightly within the cover 24 at the inner end of the adjacent element immediately preceding it. The degree of nesting, that is, the distance within which the bight portion must extend or penetrate into the preceding buffing element cover, will necessarily depend upon the radius of the centerless ring 16 and the number of buffing elements 12 which are to be employed in the bufiing wheel. This penetration or nesting at the inner ends of the bufiing elements may be as much as half of the width of the bufling element without unduly increasing the thickness of material at the centerless ring 16 or impairing the action of the individual elements.

The outer peripheral end of each bufiing element is preferably discrete or spaced circu mferentiailly from the outer end of the adjacent buffing elements, although it has been found that a slight touching of the adjacent buffing elements at the outer periphery will not adversely affect the operation of the bufiing wheel. The term substantially discrete as used herein is meant to include both a circumferential spacing between and/or a slight touching of the peripheral ends of the butting elements. Since each butting element is substantially tightly packed, that is, the plies thereof are in close proximity, the spacing between corresponding parts of the adjacent buffing elements is relatively great. Thus, even though there may be a substantial amount of inner end nesting, each buifing element 12 in the wheel 1%) is distinct and may be easily identified.

The buffing wheel is adapted to be rotated in one direction only, and that is in the direction in which the folded or closed edge 26 of each buffing element leads the open edge 28. The close proximity of the plies in the central core 22 and in the cover 24 of each bufing element causes the buffing elements to wear uniformly and eliminates any substantial fraying at the outer end thereof. It appears that the abrasive surface of each layer removes any cloth residue of the next adjacent layer which rnight otherwise block the abrasive action of the buff and substantially reduce its etficiency.

The buffing wheel can be constructed and operated very effectively when the individual bufing elements 12 are constructed without the rectangular multi-ply central core 22 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 5. This embodiment of the invention may be less expensive than the preferred embodiment and the close proximity of the plies in each of the distinct buffing elements does render these elements self-cleaning. It is usually desirable to increase the number of individual elements somewhat when the core is omitted. However, superior results on most work are obtained if the central core 22 is used as previously described.

The plies of each butting element are preferably free, i.e., they are not sewn or otherwise tied together except by the grip of the centerless ring 16 at their inner ends. This feature permits each ply to move slightly relative to the adjacent ply and probably aids in the self-cleaning action of the plies as previously described.

A modification of the preferred embodiment, which also has many advantages over the bufiing wheels of the prior art, is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The individual tbufiing elements 12 are constructed without a central core and are arranged in a serpentine pattern about the clamping ring 16. The inner end of the folded edge portion 26 of each element is not nested within the inner end of the open edge portion of the next adjacent element. Instead, the inner end of the open edge portion of each element is disposed to one side of the inner end of the folded edge of the next adjacent element. Thus the inner ends of the edge portion of the elements overlie or underlie each other as the case may be. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the serpentine pattern is repeated every group of four elements, and every other element is an outside element 30; i.e., all portions thereof are disposed completely to one side of all portions of its adjacent elements, and these outside elements 30 are separated by an intermediate element 32, the inner end of which is overlapped by the adjacent outside elements. Other serpentine configurations will immediately appear to one skilled in the art. Devices of this type are characterized by reduced streaking and uniform action.

It may be seen that in the butting wheel constructed in accordance with this invention, the bufiing elements are self-cleaning and exhibit very little tendency to fray. These elements, because of their novel construction wear very evenly, and, therefore, the tendency to score and groove the metal piece being buffed is substantially eliminated.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that many modifications and changes in various details may be restorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A disc-shaped bufiing wheel comprising a plurality of buffing elements, each element comprising a central core of several separate substantially fiat, cloth plies and a separate cover of several cloth plies folded about said central core, one surface of each ply of said core and said cover being coated with abrasive and said plies being tightly packed with the abrasive coated surface of each underlying ply in engagement with the uncoated surface of the adjacent overlying ply, said elements being arranged in an annulus with the folds thereof extending radially, the inner end of each element being nested within the cover of the adjacent element, and a clamping ring engaging and clamping said elements adjacent the nested inner ends thereof.

2. A disc-shaped buffing wheel comprising a plurality of discrete buffing elements, each element comprising a central core of several substantially fiat, rectangular, cloth plies and a separate cover of several substantially rectangular, cloth plies folded about and substantially enclosing said central core, one surface of each ply of said core and said cover being coated with abrasive and said plies being tightly packed with the abrasive coated surface of each underlying ply in engagement with the uncoated surface of the adjacent overlying ply, said elements being arranged in an annulus with the folds thereof extending radially, the inner end of each element being nested within the cover of the adjacent element, and a clamping ring engaging and clamping said elements adjacent the nested inner ends thereof.

3. A disc-shaped buffing wheel comprising a plurality of elongate bufiing elements, each element being folded longitudinally to present a fold line along one longitudinal edge and being open along the opposite longitudinal edge, said elements being arranged in a serpentine pattern in an annulus with the fold lines thereof extending radially and with the open edge portion adjacent the inner end of each element being in superimposed relation with respect to the folded edge portion adjacent the inner end of the next adjacent element, said serpentine pattern being repeated in every group of four elements with every other element being an outside elment, and a clamping ring engaging and clamping said elments adjacent the superimposed inner ends thereof.

4. A disc-shaped bufling Wheel comprising a plurality of elongate buffing elements, each element being formed of several separate quadrilateral cloth plies, each ply being folded only along a central bight and one surface of each ply being coated with abrasive, the plies in each element being nested with the abrasive coated surface of each ply disposed exteriorly and, in the case of each undenlying ply, being positioned for engagement with the adjacent overlying ply, whereby the outer ends of the overlying cloth plies may be kept clean by abrasion, said multi ply elements being arranged in an annulus with the central b ight portions extending radially, the inner end portion of each elment being in overlapping relationship with the inner end portion of the immediately adjacent element, and the outer ends of said elments being substantially discrete, and a clamping ring engaging and clamping said elments adjacent the nested inner ends thereof.

5. A disc-shaped buffing wheel comprising a plurality of elongate bufling elements, each element being formed of several separate superposed cloth plies, one surface of said superposed plies being folded centrally and only once in the formation of said element to present a single fold line along one longitudinal edge of said elment and only free edges of said plies along the opposite longitudinal edge thereof, whereby each bufiing elemnt is closed along one longitudinal edge and open along the other, one surface of each ply being coated with abrasive, the plies in each element being nested with the abrasive coated surface of each ply disposed exteriorly and, in the case of each underlying ply, being in engagement with the adjacent overlying ply, whereby the outer ends of the overlying cloth plies may be kept clean by abrasion, said elements being arranged in an annulus with the fold lines therof extending radially and with the inwardly disposed end portion of the open edge of each element being in superposed relationship with respect to the inwardly disposed end portion of the closed edge of the next ad jacent element, and a clamping ring engaging and clamp ing the superposed inwardly disposed end portions of said elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 537,687 Keighley Apr. 16, 1895 872,966 Painter Dec. 3, 1907 981,841 Codman et a1 Jan. 17, 1911 1,431,157 Gooley Oct. 10, 1922 1,93 6,203 Neu et al 'Nov. 21, 1933 2,484,994 Hall Oct. 18, 1949 2,755,608 Peterson July 24, 1956 2,882,654 Mockiewicz et a1 Apr. 12, 1959 2,913,856 Carlton Nov. 24, 1959 

1. A DISC-SHAPED BUFFING WHEEL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF BUFFING ELEMENTS, EACH ELEMENT COMPRISING A CENTRAL CORE OF SEVERAL SEPARATE SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, CLOTH PILES AND A SEPARATE COVER OF SEVERAL CLOTH PLIES FOLDED ABOUT SAID CENTRAL CORE, ONE SURFACE OF EACH PLY OF SAID CORE AND SAID COVER BEING COATED WITH ABRASIVE AND SAID PLIES BEING TIGHTLY PACKED WITH THE ABRASIVE COATED SURFACE OF EACH UNDERLYING PLY IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNCOATED SURFACE OF THE ADJACENT OVERLYING PLY, SAID ELEMENTS BEING ARRANGED IN AN ANNULUS WITH THE FOLDS THEREOF EXTENDING RADIALLY, THE INNER END OF EACH ELEMENT BEING NESTED WITHIN THE COVER OF THE ADJACENT ELEMENT, AND A CLAMPING RING ENGAGING AND CLAMPING SAID ELEMENTS ADJACENT THE NESTED INNER ENDS THEREOF. 